Health & WellnessS


Pills

Unintended consequences: Anti-anxiety medication deadens emotions and empathy

Dana Dovey
Medical Daily
Tue, 28 Jun 2016 00:00 UTC
anti-anxiety medications
© PixabayMice on certain anti-anxiety medications were less likely to help out others.
Anxiety disorders can be characterized by the tendency to overthink situations, however, a new study suggests that the popular anti-anxiety medication midazolam may work a little too well at helping anxiety patients "not sweat the small stuff." It actually may make them considerably unemotional and apathetic to the hardships of others.

For the study, now published online in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center tested the empathy lab rats showed other lab rats in distress by giving them the opportunity to release their companions from a closed container. Some of the rats were given the anti-anxiety medication midazolam, while the control rats were not given any types of medication.

Although these control mice attempted to free their trapped companions, the rats given midazolam were observed ignoring their trapped friends time and again. The researchers know the medication did not interfere with the rats' strength or ability to open the container because the medicated rats opened the container when there were chocolate chips on the inside. Instead, it seemed that the medicated rats just didn't care enough to help out a friend in need.

Comment: There are numerous non-pharma alternatives that really work and rather than impairing your health, can actually improve your overall health and well-being. Proper diet, meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy and exercise are all methods that have been shown to be effective in alleviating anxiety.

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Bulb

Science confirms wisdom of the ancients: 'Rosemary is for remembrance'

Sayer Ji
Greenmedinfo
Wed, 09 Jul 2014 16:13 UTC
rosemary
"There's rosemary, that's for remembrance..." ~ William Shakespeare
Since ancient times, herbs have been appreciated for their profound therapeutic effects.Science as a form of evidence-gathering did not take the epistemological pole position until quite recently in cultural history, with the evidence of direct experience and the senses being the method and the means for ascertaining the medicinal value of plant medicines and foods for countless generations stretching back to the dawn of the human experience.

Rosemary, a small perennial shrub in the mint family, is one such example, a plant woven deeply into ancient history and mythology, providing clues and hints to its particular value in cognition, memory and enhanced sensorial awareness, and ultimately its sacredness, which literally means "holy," a word that also shares etymological roots with "whole," "healthy" and "heal."
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Syringe

California vaccine law takes effect - requires vaccinations for all school-aged kids

Kevin Oliver
kcra.com
Fri, 01 Jul 2016 14:10 UTC
vaccine law
© organiclifestylemagazine.comSB 277 signed into law by CA Governor to deny vaccine exemptions for school children
Under a California law now in effect, parents will have to get their children immunized against chicken pox, measles, mumps and seven other viruses in order to register for school.

No longer can parents choose not to vaccinate their children citing a personal belief.

Dr. Dean Blumberg, an infectious disease expert, said he believes the law will help prevent serious outbreaks in schools.

"I think there will be a higher rate of immunization in schools, and I think that will make schools a safer place for students, especially mainstream students, those parents who chose to vaccinate their children," Blumberg said.

Comment: California mandatory vaccine law passes, turning children into bioweapons

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Alarm Clock

Scientists & health professionals call for urgent action: Protect children from toxic chemicals

Sonya Lunder
Environmental Working Group
Fri, 01 Jul 2016 23:42 UTC
child with a gas mask
© naturalnurserobyn.com
Today, a distinguished group of 50 scientists, health professionals and advocates called for urgent action to protect children from the harmful effects of toxic chemicals.

Project Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental Risks, also known as TENDR, was convened to assess the impact of toxic chemicals on children's brain and nervous system development. In a statement published in the prestigious journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the group concludes that American children are widely exposed to chemicals known to impair development. They identify six toxic chemical exposures that pose clear risks to children's neurodevelopment, and opportunities for immediate action. The harmful chemicals include:
  • Organophosphate insecticides
  • PBDE flame retardants
  • Particulate air pollution
  • Lead
  • Mercury
  • PCBs

Comment: Additional articles sounding the alarm on toxic chemicals and children's health:

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USA

Defending your rights: Religious exemption to vaccination

Barbara Loe Fisher
National Vaccine Information Center
Tue, 28 Jun 2016 14:37 UTC
vaccine freedom
© thedailysheeple.com
Every summer, Americans celebrate the 4th of July to mark the day in 1776 when the American colonies agreed they would no longer be ruled by an aristocracy. The Declaration of Independence begins with, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." That Declaration was a rejection of oppression by a ruling aristocracy and the pledge that this country would uphold the unalienable natural right to life and liberty that belongs to every person.

240 years later, we find ourselves again fighting for freedom from oppression because we have allowed the rise of a new ruling aristocracy, an elitist class of privileged citizens who want the legal right to judge, shame, segregate, discriminate against and punish fellow citizens who do not share their beliefs. Nowhere is this truth more self evident than in the oppressive implementation of one-size-fits-all mandatory vaccination laws that fail to respect biodiversity or human rights and crush citizen opposition, in violation of the informed consent ethic and freedom of thought, speech, conscience and religious belief.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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Health

Gluten intolerance, modern food processing and the decline in health

Dr. Mercola
Mercola.com
Sat, 02 Jul 2016 19:55 UTC
Gluten
"Gluten: A Gut Feeling" investigates the health effects of gluten. In recent years, the benefits of a gluten-free diet have become widely recognized, its popularity fueled by celebrity endorsements and an increasing number of books.

This includes The New York Times Best Seller, "Grain Brain," written by Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist, in which he reveals how processed grains can trigger neurological dysfunction and worsen dementia.

My own book on this subject, "The No-Grain Diet," was published 13 years ago in 2003. My clinical recommendation included eliminating gluten as a first line intervention before I would further fine-tune a patient's diet.

For those with celiac disease, a severe gastrointestinal (GI) reaction to gluten, a gluten-free diet is vital. But physicians are also starting to recognize that many have some level of gluten intolerance or sensitivity, and fare better on a gluten-free diet even if they don't have celiac disease.

Comment: For more information on why gluten is toxic to everybody whether they are genetically susceptible or not, please read
The Dark Side of Wheat - New Perspectives on Celiac Disease and Wheat Intolerance and Opening Pandora's Bread Box: The Critical Role of Wheat Lectin in Human Disease

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Ambulance

Global health panics: Wealth transfer method from taxpayers to BigPharma?

James Grundvig
Epoch Times
Wed, 29 Jun 2016 14:11 UTC
zika
© Aunt_Spray/iStockAn illustration of the Zika virus, whose symptoms include mild headaches, maculopapular rash, fever, malaise, conjunctivitis, and arthralgia.
In less than a decade, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared four global health emergencies starting with the 2009 swine flu outbreak. In 2012, the "wild" polio outbreak followed the flu pandemic. Both fizzled out, underperforming their hyped lethal spread.

At the Sixty-Fifth World Health Assembly "Poliomyelitis: intensification of the global eradication initiative," which convened on April 5, 2012, the Secretariat Report stated: "In the majority of countries, out-of-season outbreaks are no longer being observed."

If the outbreaks subsided on their own, why did the WHO use scare tactics to broadcast the non-emergency to the press? Money. In the same report, the WHO admitted to having a funding gap of $1 billion between the U.S. allocation and its budget to combat that threat. The 2012 wild polio outbreak was a funding emergency, not a pandemic at all.

Comment: Zika: Different virus, same fear campaign

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Headphones

Chronic ringing in the ears? Effective methods for treating tinnitus

Dr. Mercola
Mercola.com
Thu, 30 Jun 2016 00:00 UTC
tinnitis, ringing ears
Tinnitus, or chronic ringing in your ears, affects about 1 in 5 people. While it's typically not serious, it can significantly impact your quality of life, and it may get worse with age or be a symptom of an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, ear injury or a circulatory system disorder.1

In the majority of cases, tinnitus is diagnosed after the age of 50 years, however, recent research has shown that tinnitus in youth is surprisingly common and on the rise, likely due to increased exposure to loud music and other environmental noise.2

Worse still, it may be a sign of permanent nerve damage that could predict future hearing impairment.

One-Quarter of Youth May Experience Tinnitus, Risk Hearing Loss Later in Life

In a study of 170 students between the ages of 11 and 17 years, researchers from McMaster University in Canada found "risky listening habits," including exposure to loud noise at parties or concerts, listening to music with ear buds and use of mobile phones excluding texting, were the norm.

More than half of the study participants reported experiencing tinnitus in the past, such as experiencing ringing in the ears for a day following a loud concert.

This is considered a warning sign; however, nearly 29 percent of the students were found to have already developed chronic tinnitus, as evidenced by a psychoacoustic examination conducted in a sound booth.3

Youth with and without tinnitus had a similar ability to hear, but those with tinnitus had significantly reduced tolerance for loud noise and tended to be more protective of their hearing.

Reduced sound level tolerance is a sign of damage to the auditory nerves because, when nerves used to process sound are damaged, it prompts brain cells to increase their sensitivity to noise, essentially making sounds seem louder than they are.

Comment: A research study suggests that vagus nerve stimulation may reverse the pathology of tinnitus. One of easiest and safest methods to stimulate the vagus nerve is through gentle breathing exercises. The Éiriú Eolas Stress Control, Healing and Rejuvenation Program combines breathing exercises with meditation in a program that is easy to learn and can be practiced almost anywhere making it highly adaptable to our busy lives. It will also help to assist you with reducing your stress, calming and focusing your mind, creating better links between body and mind and thus improving your quality of life.

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Health

Natural compounds that can regenerate your body

Alexa Erikson
Collective Evolution
Fri, 01 Jul 2016 17:25 UTC
regenerating organs
The human body is a complex and miraculous thing, and would not exist without continual cell turnover. When we are sick, however, regenerative processes are replaced by degenerative processes, making medicine the go-to choice for balancing our body back. But while drug-based medicines tend to be the most popular solution in today's world, they use chemicals that prevent our body from regenerating itself. Much simpler and safer routes, like proper diet, herbs, and nutrition, should be taken instead.

Below are five bodily tissues that can be regenerated through nutrition:

1. Nerve Regeneration

There are a slew of natural compounds that offer nerve-regenerating effects. Research has found, for example, that a mixture of blueberry, green tea, and carnosine can promote stem-cell regeneration in a neurodegenerative disease.

Comment: For more on regeneration see:

Fasting for two days can regenerate the body
Research: Can foods & spices slow and reverse Alzheimer's?
Black Seed - 'The remedy for everything but death'

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Light Sabers

Monsanto threatened by European Union decision to ban glyphosate

Brandon Turbeville
Natural Blaze
Fri, 01 Jul 2016 22:45 UTC
Glyphosate
© pixabay
As the European Union dominates the news headlines across the world, the Brexit is not the only controversy brewing in Europe. Never known for its democratic values, European nations have nevertheless refused to back an extension of the use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup - a decision that could strike a major blow to the multinational corporation.

EU politicians regulators, researchers, U.S. politicians, corporate representatives, farmers and activists are now embroiled in a debate regarding the continued use of the ubiquitous herbicide. Glyphosate is well known for its adverse effects on human health and the environment, and as a result of greater public awareness of the dangers of the chemical, pressure has been placed on national governments to begin a transition away from it.

Comment: Additional articles about the controversy brewing in Europe over Monsanto's glyphosate:

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